How to Become a Ghostwriter

Ghostwriting is a niche that few writers seemed to have tapped into. It gives you the same benefits of freelancing writing such as working for the comfort of your own home, being able to choose the projects you want to be part of and work the hours that suit you.

It’s surprisingly easy to earn money through ghostwriting as both individuals and corporations hire ghostwriters on a regular basis. Unlike some freelance positions it’s possible to give up the day job with dedication and strong writing skills.

Though there are several benefits to ghostwriting there is one major drawback, which explains why ghostwriting is still a niche. As a ghostwriter you surrender all copyright to the article, and won’t receive credit for your work however successful it may be. This puts a lot of freelance writers off moving into ghosting writing. Though with every negative comes a positive and as a ghost writer usually you will receive higher pay than your freelance writer counterparts.

Many companies who employ ghostwriters have very limited writing skills themselves, therefore are willing to pay a higher price for the right candidate. If you complete an assignment to satisfactory standard they may also use you for other projects, and perhaps also refer you to sister companies, colleagues and friends.

Top tips

Gain professional work experience as a writer. This will help you to work well to deadlines and follow a brief. Short term writing jobs can be found at: www.indeed.co.uk

Pick a writing expertise as a ghostwriter you will have the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects. Ideally you should select a type of writing that interest you. For example your area of expertise could be CV writing, web content, non-fiction articles, fiction articles etc. You could be an expert in more than one area if you are a skilled writer.

Design a Website that you can sell your ghostwriting skills through. It should showcase your best pieces of work, include rates and contact details. You may find most of your visitors are potential clients you have referred but it’s still worthwhile. You could setup a Google ad word campaign to boost your visibility; however as ‘Ghostwriter’ is a popular key term you could end up paying about £1.20 per click for a page one position.

Bid on Ghostwriting Jobs with websites such as www.peoplehour.com and www.elance.com   it is much easier to find a contract, especially when starting out. Freelance marketplaces, sometimes cost a subscription fee but they can reap rewards fairly easily. You’ll be able to search job postings and set up a profile in most of these websites. It should be possible to sign up for job alerts with most websites. As freelance writing is a competitive field you may find your rejected for some of the projects you bid on, but it is important not to let this affect you and to carry on biding.

Advertise your ghostwriting services through writing on forums, for example business forums such as http://london.craigslist.co.uk , contact companies direct, using local newspapers and freelance writing e-newsletters.

Professional Attitude you must remain professional in all respects from the way you present yourself online or face to face to the way to communicate to clients and the quality of your clients. The more professional your attitude the more likely you are to get repeat clients and referrals.

Meet you deadlines – you should never miss a deadline! This is almost as important as the quality of your writing. If you feel you cannot meet a deadline set you should always discuss this with the client early on so you do not miss or produce low quality work.

There are numerous benefits to freelancing, for example the freedom and flexibility to work for as many different types of client as you like as well as the obvious benefit of increasing your take home pay. In fact our freelancer take home pay calculator shows you how much you can expect to take home as a freelancer.

Having made the decision to give it a go, whether full or part time and whether to set up as a sole trader or limited company, you’re going to need a wide range of tax and accountancy advice and support in the early days when setting up as a freelancer.

The most daunting thing about going freelancing for most people is the thought of having to engage with an accountant. At first glance it’s easy, you go down to your local high street accountant who quotes you anything from £250 - £600 plus VAT to do your end of year accounts for you.

This sounds great, however what happens if you want to speak to your accountant for advice throughout the year on things like:

• Expenses
• Tax allowances
• Take home pay
• How much you should put aside for your tax bill
• Should you register for the Flat Rate VAT scheme
• Would going limited be beneficial
• Can I do work other than copywriting through my business
• If you have a life plan and wish to go travelling what’s the most tax efficient way to run your business.

Each time you pick up the phone it is likely you will get charged, in fact every time your accountant sends you a letter you may charged and you may even get charged if you call to query your invoice! So by the end of the year you could easily be looking at a bill of over £1,000. 

Easy Accountancy charge a fixed fee of only £30 VAT a month.

We don’t want our clients to be scared to contact us and potentially lose out on valuable tax saving advice, that's why we only charge a fixed fee of £30 VAT a month. It’s important when you first start out freelancing that you set your business up in the best way possible. As a start up you’ll probably have loads of questions and will really appreciate the fact you can call your accountant as many times as you like without the fear of racking up large bills.